The Grudge
by Kira Chartrand
Summary: The team is haunted by a childhood enmity and faces one of their toughest challenges. EO! Rated K  but becomes M halfway through towards end.
1. Chapter 1

All right FanFiction! Let me present my first attempt at a story. I apologize now for any and all inconsistencies, mistakes, incorrect medical/legal terms or occurrences, and SVU protocols/formalities that I butcher. Please don't be hard on me. This in an EO and will have some insidious villainy along the way- let me know what you think!

aaaaannnd - I own NOTHING!

**Chapter 1:**

The door burst open upon impact with Detective Stabler's foot, his hands waving a gun. "Police!" He yelled into the room.

"Whoa, whoa!" A man exclaims, springing up from behind his computer where he had previously been working, "What's this all about? I already-"

"Yeah, you already nothing!" Stabler rebuked, "We're finished with your lies, hands behind your back!"

Olivia Benson strolled casually in the background, confirmed in her assurance that Clooney would go easily despite Elliot's insistence on another gun slinging entrance.

"See, what'd I tell you?" Olivia chided him, "just another routine arrest."

"Yeah, well, you never know with these guys, one minute he's telling us he's never seen the girl, the next we've got a camera reel of him reeling her in here."

"All right, all right, point taken. Still, I don't know how I feel about the whole thing, you know, Clooney calling the cops just as we showed up at his doorstep." Olivia had been puzzled about the circumstances at first, but the evidence had piled up, and with a powerhouse like Elliot Stabler driving at the matter it wasn't long before doors were bashed down.

"Sure, Clooney was just trying to frame it as a frame up, we've seen it a hundred times. Nothing new. Besides, if it wasn't for his damn sweet-talking we wouldn't have had the pain of a return trip.

That was true. The police had been alerted to the rape after an anonymous tip that reported screaming from his apartment, and yet as soon as the police arrived they found Clooney unnerved, himself on the phone with 9-11, reporting the same crime, as if he had just walked in on it. Clooney was so adamant that the police let him remain at home that night under surveillance while they investigated further, until reviewing the recordings of the apartment complex video cameras which clearly portrayed a hooded man dragging in a young resistant woman an hour prior to the emergency phone calls. "Get him back in here." Cragen had ordered.

SVU-EO-SVU

"Elliot, I'm still worried about this case," Olivia intimated to her partner across radio airspace while the jury was in deliberation. "I've been listening to Clooney's testimony and either he's the most innocent man I've ever seen or one hell of a liar, and I mean-"

"Oo-liv-ia…" Elliot droned. "Are you still dragging out the Lamarck case? We've got a fresh victim in another case and her rapist isn't just going to sit around enjoying a cup of coffee while you joy-ride through the federal courthouses!"

"Elliot! I'm concerned about imprisoning an innocent man!"

"Well, from the way I see it, girl beaten and tied up to a bed doesn't add up to innocence."

"Fine, Detective," Olivia responded, indignant at having her instincts side swiped by Elliot's obstinate attitude once again, although he did have a strong point. "What's the progress on the Bentley case?"

"You still know as much as we do, Fin is tracking down a lead right now and we're waiting to hear back from the lab."

"All right, I'll call you when I'm leaving here," Olivia replied curtly, realizing her conversation had almost made her miss the verdict.

"And how does the jury find…?" recited the judge's voice.

"We the people find the defendant… Guilty."

The word seemed to sting Olivia's ears, but not as much as the resultant cry it aroused from Clooney.

"Err—no!" He screamed. "This isn't right, I didn't do it! I didn't do anything to deserve this, this isn't right! No-no!" He writhed about but policemen restrained him and herded him out of the room while Olivia stood looking. Her ears were trained to detect the tone of a lie but there was something that made her think twice about Clooney...

A man dressed in black rudely collided with Olivia in his haste out of the courtroom, jerking Olivia from her concerned reverie. She blinked her eyes and followed in his wake.

Well, right or wrong, there was no more reason to belabor this case, thought Olivia. Like so many other cases and decisions made in the field, she would just have to move on. Besides, she had the ongoing issue of her conflicting feelings about Elliot to resolve, and that would take more than enough of her effort.

SVU-EO-SVU

"All right, what's the news," Olivia began, strolling into the office only to have her arm hooked by Elliot's hand and lead right out again.

"New lead, Munch and Fin are out so that leaves us, come on, let's go."

Hurrying to keep up Olivia asked, "What's the lead, Elliot?"

"Lab results came back with a discernible thumb print on the girl's handbag. Tommy Young's the name, Delancy Street. All right, come on buddy," Elliot said impatiently, gesturing to a car that was turning in front of them but trying to be polite and let them walk first. "As if it would be easier for you to stop your car, than for me to stop walking, and in this traffic. Moron!"

Olivia smiled, she knew this was just Elliot's brash manner, besides; maybe he was still upset about the Lamarck case. "El," she began, "I'm sorry about the Lamarck case, I was just really concerned about it." She didn't fully believe what she was saying, but thought she could alleviate some tension by explaining. What else were they going to talk about during the car ride?

"Yeah, well, it's fine I guess."

"I wasn't as concerned about Clooney's innocence as I was about what it meant. If he was telling the truth then that means the real rapist is still out there. I know I was being petty but at least you can understand that."

"You're right, Liv," Elliot replied, after thinking to himself for a moment. Elliot was hard headed and hot handed on the outside, and never gave a lot of thought to his actions in the short run, but whenever he was able to sit still for a minute his gentler side surfaced. It was this aspect of Detective Stabler that Olivia had gotten to know in the years working with him, the hidden Elliot that few others ever witnessed.

"You're right, Liv," Elliot repeated. "I know I get caught up sometimes, and I really can't help it. But when I stop to think about what I'm really doing here, I remember what it is we're all fighting for, and, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time earlier, I know you were just trying to do your job as well."

Even though his words were softer his face still had that Stablerite characteristic hardness.

The squad car pulled up to 142 Delancy Street, and the two agents embarked up the stone steps. It was a chilly and overcast morning.

"What do you say I have the first go at the door this time?" Olivia solicited.

"Be my guest, just don't go in spraying bullets."

"Right, as if that's what I'm going to do," Olivia replied sarcastically. "All right, ready?" Olivia rapped the door, "Police, Tommy Young, we have a warrant for your arrest, open the door now!"

Silence, and then they heard some scuffling.

"See, they don't all go so easily," Elliot said, his foot forcibly removing the door from its hinges. "Police!" He bellowed.

The pair rushed into the apartment, fanning to the left and right expertly. They wound their way around, Olivia proceeding through the kitchen and Elliot through the living room into a bedroom when Elliot heard a shuffle of footsteps and a slam in the next room. Turning to see a figure darting across a mirror he rushed forward only to slam into Olivia, which send them both toppling to the ground. By the time they had reestablished themselves and Elliot realized the reflection he had seen had been of Olivia, the perp's escape through the fire exit had been guaranteed.

"Damnit!" he cried, looking down twelve flights of cascading metallic stairs to see a small figure darting around the corner of the building. "Olivia, if you…" he started, but finished by simply storming out of the room.

Olivia stood there for a moment before following. There was no way he was going to blame this on me, she thought. "Elliot!" She called after him. However, to her astonishment, by the time she stepped out into the air she meet not only a fresh shower of rain drops but the chugging exhaust of Elliot's car as he sped away, without her.

"Well, I guess I'll just search the apartment by myself then." Olivia said, at the end of her patience. As she reentered the building her eye caught something red appearing down the sidewalk. No way, the perp wouldn't return this quickly, Olivia thought. She had caught a glimpse of him before barreling into Elliot earlier, and he was wearing red…

Slam! "Not so fast buddy!" Olivia ordered, menacingly. By his cautious approach this was clearly Young. "You are under arrest for the rape of Lisa Bentley," Olivia said, handcuffing him.

"All right, all right, you've got me!" Tommy moaned. Man, this was surely going to be a surprise for 'ol Elliot, walking in with Tommy cuffed and confessing like this, Olivia mused happily.

SVU-EO-SVU

"He got away before we could get a good look at him!" Elliot blurted.

"And you decided that trying to chase a man with a five minute head start was better than searching his apartment?" Cragen upbraided, incredulously. "And where, exactly, is Detective Benson?"

"She…" Elliot began but was interrupted as the Detective herself proudly strolled in leading a spasmodic Tommy Young into the office.

"No need for a cat fight fellas, I've got Mr. Tommy right here for you!"

"You- what?" Elliot said. "How the-"

"Hm. Excellent, at least one of you can do your job. Olivia, holding," Cragen said, motioning to the interrogation cells nearby, and then, "You, my office," in reference to the fuming Elliot.

Olivia was the only one who vocalized a response.

SVU-EO-SVU

As the day came to a close with the Bentley case wrapping up and the uncertainty surrounding the Lamarck conviction forgotten Elliot approached Olivia's desk.

"Liv, I'm sorry about earlier today. Well, all of it. I talked to Cragen for a while and he told me it would be a good idea to just admit I've been having some trouble at home, and its put me on edge lately. I'm sorry to have been so moody and irritable." He started to turn away, "oh, and good work on catching Young today."

"Thanks, El," she said, and then "Goodnight" as he walked away. It seemed like he wanted to be alone and this was one of his 'let me apologize you don't need to respond' moments, so she just let it go at that. Having some trouble at home, she thought, what could be the matter? Kathy had been gone for some time now, and as far as she knew all his kids were doing fine in school. Olivia wondered what he could have been referring to.

"Hey, Benson!" Casey Novak's voice called to her. "Still here this late?"

"Yes, you as well I see."

"Yeah, just finishing the paperwork on Bentley. Hey, what do you say we go and get some drinks somewhere? You look like you could use some R and R."

"You know, sure." Olivia replied, relieved actually, realizing now that she was emotionally exhausted from the long day.

NEXT: Casey and Olivia gossip with each other over drinks, and have a surprise visitor. mas reviews por favor!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The attractive young lawyer and her policewoman companion strode into a bar lit with blue lights and sat at a tall table near the back. They were both still in their work clothes, Olivia had tucked her police badge inside her pocket, and they hoped the darkness would conceal them from any blubbering drunks who thought they could score. Last time that happened Casey had nearly given the poor guy a concussion.

"What'll it be?" Casey asked, scooting her chair up "beers, vodka, wine even?"

"What, are you buying?" Olivia asked, intrigued. Casey rarely bought drinks when they went out, she must be having a great day to even consider it.

"Well, maybe the first one." Casey answered sheepishly.

"All right, couple o' beers then. You seem to be in a pretty good mood, anything new, Ms. Novak?"

"No, no, I've just- well, no, it's nothing," Casey trailed off, fiddling with her shirt. "Have you-" she regrouped, trying to change the subject.

"Hey! No you don't Casey Novak," Olivia interrupted, "there must be something on your mind to ask me out here and pay for drinks. Is it a guy," she jested, "do you have a secret boyfriend outside of the office, or, maybe inside the office?" Olivia started to shake her head, smiling derisively, "Mhm, yeah, maybe that's it, maybe you and Cragen hav-"

"Ms. Benson!" Casey interjected. "Although, there may- may be something of a new male interest in my life it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Captain. What a crude idea. Just for that why don't we start by you telling me a little about you and Elliot!"

Their drinks had arrived and they were both gossiping pleasantly when a familiar voice said, "well, hello ladies! Anyone sitting here? Don't mind if I do." Detective John Munch seated himself squarely across from them.

They stared at him blankly. "What?" he questioned, "does a young, hot, single stud not have a right to introduce himself to two good looking ladies in a bar nowadays?"

Casey started, flabbergasted, "first, Detective Munch, young?"

Olivia continued, "and, hot, John?"

"And… Stud!" Casey finished, her eyes gaping, laughing vigorously.

"Well you know, I was just on my way through and recognized two familiar faces, thought I'd say hello." Munch clarified, blushing, although Olivia wondered if it was a trick of the lights, his face was so aged it had probably lost the delicate capacity to alter its coloration in such circumstances.

"Fair enough," Olivia said, "hey! Waiter! One more beer over here!"

"Ah, Casey must be buying," Munch said, amused at Olivia's eagerness, "Make that two, waiter!"

"All right guys, all right," said Casey, feigning worry over her pocketbook, but Olivia noticed that she had perked up slightly after Munch's appearance, speaking of, how exactly had Munch run into them like that?

"So, what really brings you here, John?" Olivia asked, wanting to know.

"Seriously now, can't a guy just go out for a drink without being interrogated? I know Huang's advised us all to restrict our job personalities to the job," he said, smirking.

"Oh I know, I'm just giving you a hard time John!" Olivia replied playfully, brushing his shoulder with her hand.

"Oh come on baby, I was just seeing if you needed a ride home, nothing more, why don't you just-"

"Leave me alone, I told you already I-"

Casey, Olivia and John all turned around to see an obviously drunk fellow rudely pulling at a young lady's arm, cajoling her to go home with him.

"Come on, play nice, you little," the man said.

"Watch it, buddy!" Came Munch's command, inflected with a heroic hint of 'prince in shining armor to the rescue.'

"You watch it, you nobody old man!" The ruffian replied, shoving him off.

Munch whipped out his police badge and thrust it in the man's face, pushing him away from the women with his other arm. "Nobody old man huh? Why don't I just show you what this nobody old man can do? Now get lost, punk." The man scrammed, snarling. Munch straightened his coat with a 'huff' and winked at the young girl he had just rescued, before returning to his table.

SVU-EO-SVU

An hour or two later Munch departed, after mentioning to girl that if she really did need a ride home he would be happy to oblige, and the two girlfriends soon left as well, but by this point Casey was well beyond sobriety so Olivia appointed herself as Casey's escort back to Olivia's apartment for the night.

"So, Liv," Casey said, stumbling along. "What do you think of him?" "Of, Munch?" Olivia exclaimed, stopping right there. "Casey Novak, do you have a thing for John?"

"Well, I wouldn't really call it a thing…" Casey said, "you know, just a… just… Well he did show up at the bar tonight, I barely even mentioned it to him earlier… that's got to, that means he thought about what I said, so…. and the way he stood up for that girl… he's just… so..."

Wow, Casey really has a low tolerance Olivia observed. "Come on girl, let's just get you back to my place so you can get some sleep." Olivia wondered if Casey's impaired statement reflected the truth of her rational mind. Did she have a crush on Munch, did Munch return that affection? This was too much office romance for her, Olivia thought as she hauled the sputtering lawyer up the stairs to her apartment.

"All right, Ms. Novak, you'll be sleeping right here," Olivia said, indicating her couch.

"Great," said Casey, who seemed to prefer the coffee table, upon which she promptly crashed, smashing it to the ground.

"Yeah, great." Olivia murmured, swinging her arms and slapping her hands helplessly at her sides. She heaved the snoring lawyer onto the couch and left the destroyed coffee table for the morning. It was ten thirty but Olivia wasn't that sleepy yet, and alcohol always put her in a pensive mood so she poured herself another glass of wine, she hadn't even had that many beers at the bar being so absorbed by John's performance. The twinkling city lights filled her vision as she sipped, silently, mulling over the day's events in her mind, specifically, the events concerning Elliot.

She had felt herself becoming closer and closer to him as they worked together, although it had taken her a while to realize that this was happening. Of course her pals had teased her that they would get together sooner or later, but that was to be expected. Huang had even tried to draw the truth out of her during one of her psych evals but she had kept quiet, maintaining that they were just partners and friends. She wasn't even sure herself how she felt towards Elliot or what path she wanted their relationship to take. As for El's feelings, not only was he temperamental but he bottled up his real feelings so consistently that there was as much of a chance for him to share her growing affections as there was for him to get a new partner and never think twice about it. She just couldn't be sure.

She was pretty lonely, she had to admit. She had the team, and nights like tonight, she thought, but in terms of, well, real intimate relationships her retinue was looking pretty dreary. She couldn't go on living like this forever. One day she wanted to start a family of her own, and be a mother, but after seeing and dealing with so many sorrowfully dissolved marriages that lead to crimes and abuse she had resolved herself to choose a husband with absolute assurance that they could provide for their future kids. Her childhood had been so difficult, and granted, it wasn't entirely her mother's fault, but if there was one thing she valued it was to give hope and life to those who deserved it, and the first people she considered in this manner were her precious future children.

In a way it was part of her duty as an officer, and in a way her duty as an officer was partly due to this sentiment, and these two things defined her. She wanted to live her life in a way that would decisively put an end to the wrongs she and her mother had suffered, not only by fighting the dirtbags who still committed them but by giving life to those she cared about.

"Ah…." Olivia sighed, resting against the windowsill, the wine glass empty, her mouth forming the shaky, accepting tremor of a smile that hid the lonely pain inside her when suddenly her phone rang, startling her. It was Elliot.

"Elliot, hey, what's up?" Olivia said, bewildered.

"Liv," he said, he seemed short of breath. "This will seem absurd, but I just ran across a rape victim on the street. She had just been attacked."

"Oh my god, El, what happened?" Olivia asked quickly, concerned.

"Everything is all right now, don't stress yourself. I called it in, she's at the hospital, and the crime scene is under control. But there's something about it that I thought you needed to know tonight."

"Um, okay, what is it?" Olivia queried, confused.

"Well," Elliot began, "I saw her before the attack. I've been at the gym, yeah, I know it's late but they're open late and I needed to work some steam off. Anyways, I was there, and so was she. I didn't know her, I just recognized her afterward. She must have left before me, and then next thing I know I find her curled up whimpering in an alley on my walk home at eleven o'clock. Sounds pretty routine so far, but the thing is, she was at the gym, working out, dressed in exposing exercise clothes."

"O..k," Olivia said, not following, "So the perp's turned on by hot athletic girls?"

"Olivia," he said, "Kaitlyn Lamarck, the girl from the other day, had just come from the gym as well. Same MO."

"Oh my god… but- Clooney's been in jail since yesterday morning, oh my god! Elliot we got the wrong guy! The rapist's still out there!"

NEXT: The Lamarck case is reopened and the team struggles to find leads.


	3. Chapter 3

to 7Seven7, I love Casey too but unfortunately she won't reappear for a while, and doesn't play a prominent role in this story. I love her but wanted to keep everything simple for my first story.

**Chapter 3:**

The office was being consumed by a flurry of activity on the following morning as Olivia walked in. She was early but apparently Elliot had alerted Cragen who had called in everyone else as soon as it wasn't an ungodly hour.

"Munch, go." Cragen commanded, dispatching Munch to reinterview Kaitlyn Lamarck. "Benson, glad you decided to show up. I need you to find Ms. Novak and get her ass in here so we can attempt to revoke the ruling on Clooney, if need be."

Oh god, Olivia thought. Casey. Their much needed lawyer was still passed out on her couch for all she knew. Olivia had been so incensed after Elliot's phone call on the previous night by the time the morning finally rolled around she had swept out of her house like a bullet train anxious to find that rapist bastard who was still loose on the streets. Casey had completely slipped her mind, and line of vision, as she raced out of her house. "Um, all right, cap. I'm on it," Olivia stammered.

"No need for that," Elliot intervened suddenly. "Clooney's dead. Straight up killed himself first day of the slammer."

"WH-AT!" Cragen spluttered, throwing up his arms reflexively. "God-damnit!"

"Oh noo…" Olivia moaned, realization dawning on her face. Her anger over the second rape was immediately dwarfed by her remorse over Clooney, her original doubts returning to haunt her painfully. She remembered his pleading in the courtroom as they dragged him away, "I knew something was wrong, I knew! I- damn it!" She burst out, slamming her fists onto her desk.

"Oh, hell," Cragen said, covering his forehead with his hand. "All right, look everyone, we need to pull things together. Benson, my office now, please. Stabler-" Cragen stopped, halted by the frozen, self-loathing expression on Elliot's face. "Sta-bler," Cragen repeated emphatically, acquiring his attention. "Stabler, we're going to need all our men and all our brains today, and that means you, too. Are you with us?"

"Yes... sir," Elliot forced out, mechanically.

"All right, then get the lab report and then get Huang going on a psych profile of this guy." Turning, he said, "Olivia, come on." By now Olivia was just sitting at her desk totally dispirited with a broken look on her face. The captain lead her into his office and they both sat down.

"He's dead…" Olivia murmur, "he was innocent, and now he's gone. We put him there damnit!" She yelled, furious, clenching her fists.

Cragen looked at her, contrition in his eyes, and then finally began to speak with the kindest voice he could muster, "look, Liv. Clooney's gone, we made a mistake. All of us did, I'm sorry. For myself as well. You were perhaps the closest to the truth of all of us, I'm sorry we didn't listen to you. But it's over now, despite our regrets, and the real rapist is still out there. We need to get it together and find him, because clearly he's not going to be content to sit on his ass all day waiting for us. Olivia, will you be able to handle this?"

Olivia's near-tearful face had remained guilt stricken during Cragen's supplication, but now with an inhumane effort she steeled herself against the regret of Clooney's suicide and prepared herself to hunt down this son of a bitch.

"All right, Captain," she said stolidly, determined. "Let's get this fucker."

"That's what I'm talking about," Cragen said, relieved. "Now, two rape victims, same MO, both girls leaving gyms. I want you to find out if any matching names appear on the gym customer lists from the two nights of interest. Our guy might stalk out his victims in the gym before pouncing."

"Ok, I'm on it Captain."

"Oh, and tell Fin to get in here."

"Yes sir."

SVU-EO-SVU

The team all gathered in the briefing room to go over the evidence they had pulled together.

"Elliot, you go first." Cragen began.

"Jessie Clifford, age twenty three, one year older than Kaitlyn. She said she had simply come in for a workout at the Equinox, never noticed anyone or anything suspicious in the gym, and left to walk home around 10:45- she lived close. She heard a noise in an alley she passed around 43rd street and quickened her pace but was suddenly grabbed and a hand covered her mouth. She was pulled back into the alley, gagged from behind and shoved down, then raped. She said she was never able to get a good look at the man who did it. After he was done he just pushed her harshly to the ground and said 'yeah, that's right bitch' and told her to stay there on the ground. She was there whimpering when I walked by a few minutes later, perp no where in sight. She says she has no clue who would want to do this to her, and as far as I can see she's telling the truth."

"All right," Cragen sighed. "Ok, Munch, you're next."

John stood up and said, "Well, poor Kaitlyn Lamarck certainly wasn't happy to see me again but when she learned someone else was raped she became just so cute and concerned that I couldn't help but ask her if later-"

"Munch, no crap!" Cragen snapped.

"Er, right." Said Munch, composing himself. "Well, Kaitlyn's story goes about the same as Jessie's, except she was knocked out after being grabbed. She can't remember exactly where it happened on her way home, but she was coming from the Crunch Fitness center in Fort Greene. She thinks she was drugged after being abducted because her following memories where fuzzy. Her next recollection was waking up naked, tied with her face down on a bed in a room she couldn't get a good look at. Soon she heard a man come in who raped her, but she couldn't get a look at him and he didn't say anything the entire time. She said the next thing she knew she heard someone's voice on the phone, and then police officers storming through the place, but she couldn't recall how much time had elapsed since the rape. As you will all remember the hospital did find trace levels of rohypnol in her bloodstream."

"Right," said Cragen, "Elliot get me a recording of the 9/11 call that brought the police to find her. Olivia, what did the search from the gyms turn up?"

"Well, only Crunch Fitness records the name of one-time customers, of which there were six possibilities. I looked them all up and we're checking surveillance from the other gym to see if we can recognize any of them there, but the outlook on making an ID isn't very hopeful."

"All right," Captain Cragen said in summation, observing the evidence board which was tacked with pictures of the two victims, the names of Olivia's six possibles, and maps charting the attack routes and locations, and also pictures from the crime scenes. "It looks like we're going to have to work off the first rape, I don't think we can pull anything useful from this second one."

"Cap, here it is," Elliot said, walking back in and over to a computer, pulling up a sound file and playing it.

'9-11 Emergency Services, what is your emergency?' came the responders voice, which was answered by an unsavory male voice saying, 'yes, yes, I live in the Lewis and Charter apartment building, and I can hear a girl screaming from one of the neighbor's rooms, I think someone is attacking her, it's room 573.' Click, the line was dead.

Elliot looked up, "call traces to a pay phone outside, no chance this guy lives near the fifth floor and walked outside to call the cops, all the rooms have phone service."

"Yeah, and Kaitlyn was in no condition to be screaming, not to mention none of the other neighbors reported hearing anything." Cragen added. "That must be our rapist. That would also explain why he didn't speak while raping her, she would recognize that Clooney's voice wasn't his and Clooney would be exonerated immediately, but what about that surveillance video?"

Elliot continued, "we had computer crimes analyze the tape and they identified an inconsistency which suggests someone deleted the most recent portion of the tape."

"So we see the perp come in with Kaitlyn, but don't see him leave and Clooney come in later, making us think Clooney alone was at fault!" Cragen said.

"So then who the hell would want to frame Clooney for a rape?" Asked Elliot.

"Well whoever it was clearly succeeded," Munch commented, unnecessarily. Cragen glared at him, and then said "okay, Huang, what's going on in this guy's head?"

Huang stepped forward. "Well, our culprit has a thing for young girls, he is obviously turned on by athletic ones. He probably gets a kick out of subduing a girl who herself is no wimp, which means he desires to be seen as superior. He probably suffered some sort of abuse when he was younger causing him to dominate others to assert his own identity and masculinity."

"He is also vengeful, and sadistic. The Clooney frame up means he had a grudge for a while, carefully planned his adversary's demise, and enjoyed it. He hurt both of the girls, but not seriously; inflicting injury will probably escalate from now on. Also, he is not appeased easily, the second rape happened only days after the first, which means we're on a short time frame to find him. My bet is that he will stalk out another gym and attack another girl very soon."

"Another gym, there's got to be dozens in Manhattan alone, we can't possibly watch them all!" Olivia exclaimed, aggravated.

"You won't have to," Fin said, walking in. "Here's Quentin Daniel's testimony that pins a suspicious looking man outside the Equinox the night of the rape and the night before. He says he saw this punk lurking outside the gym for a while, and then drive off in a blue Chevrolet. The next night the guy was back, but no car."

"Great, do we have a tag?" Cragen asked.

"Yeah we do, Daniel's is an engineer, he saw the license plate and remembered it somehow. COL-624, something about coulomb or something, he was really pumped about it. Hell, I just thanked him for remembering and calling us. Anyway, yeah, the tag checks out to a blue Chevy under the name of Carl Shankle, 72 Cedar Street." They all looked to the fifth picture plastered to the board. A grisly looking Carl Shankle stared down at them, almost mockingly. "Benson, Stabler, bring his ass in." Cragen ordered.

NEXT: Olivia and Elliot finally talk and Olivia learns what has been bothering him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Elliot and Olivia pulled up across the street from Shankle's residence. From his records they had learned that he worked a day job at an insurance company, to which Munch and Fin had been sent. He was probably there at work at this hour, but if not he and Olivia were going to arrest the hell out of him.

"Here we go," Elliot said as the two headed up the stairs.

Olivia reached the door first, raising her fist to knock.

"Not a chance," Elliot said, as he annihilated the door with his foot.

The pair burst in guns raised and swept the rooms; no one home. They avoided any inopportune collisions this time as well.

"Well, unless we hear from Fin and Munch looks like we'll be spending the day waiting for this asshole." Elliot concluded.

The partners returned to their parked patrol car, which Elliot reposition down the block to give them an easy angle at Shankle's door step as they began to wait.

"What was it, El? Work off some steam or something like that?" Olivia began, adverse to small talk. Although she had been livid after learning of Shankle's second rape and Clooney's suicide her confused feelings toward Elliot had not been forgotten. "Sweating it out in the gym at eleven o'clock at night means something is wrong, please tell me if anything is the matter El, I'm worried for you."

"I was just, I just had to do it, that's all." Elliot said, stubbornly. "I was tired," he said, in insufficient explanation of his nighttime exertion.

"Tired of what? A long hard day working sex crimes isn't tiring? And the fix is to work out near midnight? Come on, El, what's the matter?" Olivia pleaded earnestly.

"It's the kids, Liv." He sighed finally. Elliot's children had been living with him for about six months, after his ex-wife Kathy had tragically died in a car crash in Maryland. As far as Olivia knew they were all doing very well. Elliot was initially exhausted under the newfound stress and responsibility, but he had managed to step up to the challenge. His children were also behaving very maturely for their ages, and had learned to manage many of the responsibilities themselves. Olivia of course helped out as well, whenever she was needed, her kind presence causing Elliot's kids to adore her. Their mother's death had made their need for a mother-figure very pressing, and Olivia fulfilled that role perfectly.

"Since Kathy died," Elliot continued, "and I had to take care of the kids full time, some things … changed. When Kathy and I were together, because of my job, she, well, took care of the kids more than I and saw them a lot more. I loved them deeply, of course, but I wasn't as close to them as she was. I felt cut off, in a way. It was like she had more exclusive rights to loving them or something." Elliot paused, taking a deep breath.

"But since she died I now have to take care of all of them, I have to know everything they need and be able to provide it for them." He looked at Olivia. "Olivia, it's made me realize how precious they are to me. They're the only thing I have, and, I'm the only thing they have in this world now that Kathy is gone. If it wasn't for those kids, Liv, I don't know what I'd be. They mean everything to me, and taking care of them has now taught me that. Even during our hardest days at work the thought of them smiling when I get home is enough to get me through. I know catching criminals is important, but that just gets rid of all the wrong in the world, it doesn't add very much right to it. I've learned from my kids that adding to other people's happiness is a much greater gift, and that's why I love them so much, that's the gift I want to give them."

Olivia remembered her thoughts from the night before, and was glad they were having this conversation while staking out Shankle's house, so they wouldn't be forced to look at each other. If that wasn't the case, Elliot would have noticed the tears starting to form in Olivia's eyes, for her it was almost as if Elliot had just been describing Olivia's own deepest wish.

"I've learned all that in just six months," Elliot said, shaking his head as if surprised that such a feat was possible. "And now, Kathy's parents, my kid's grandparents, are appealing for nearly exclusive custodial rights on the kids, on the grounds that I am unable to provide for them because of my job."

"Elliot, oh my god!" Olivia said, heartbroken. "Why the hell would they do that? And they're wrong! You have provided for them better than anyone could."

"I know," he said. "But during the divorce they went with Kathy, because of the same reasoning. The court will weigh that heavily, considering my job hasn't changed. I've even had to put more hours in to make enough money to support them. And the grandparents are, of course, your ideal, affluent, idle old couple with nothing better to do then rake in and ruin my children."

"Oh Elliot, I'm so sorry," Olivia said, reaching out and holding his hand. "They won't win, there's no way. I'll fight for you, Casey will fight for you. We'll all back you up!"

Elliot looked at her, his eyes red, forcing back tears. "Thanks, Liv," he said. "I know their argument is running on thin ice, but the thought of losing my kids- well," his face hardened, "the thought of losing them to a place where I know they will be unhappy, where they will probably suffer, where I can't reach them and make them happy and keep them safe when I have every right to!" He slammed the steering wheel with his left arm, gritting his teeth, and Olivia could see that this rage was only to prevent him from breaking down completely and sobbing.

"Elliot, it's gonna be okay," Olivia consoled, "it will, I know it will. El, I'm here for you, it's going be okay, you'll be able to keep your kids and love them and they will be happy, Elliot, there's no way we will let them be taken away. Oh, El, I'm so sorry." Olivia, now, was the one crying, her suppression of tears had ended as she began to comfort her partner.

"Thanks, Liv. And so yeah, I'm sorry for being a jerk lately, I've just been upset about that."

Olivia couldn't believe he was apologizing for that now, that he even remembered it. "Oh, El, no- no it's okay, don't apologize. I can't believe you dealing with something like this." She squeezed his hand, not knowing how to continue.

"You know," Elliot said, in a more wistful tone. "Sometimes I wonder… We fight for justice and for our government, for the laws. And yet sometimes even the laws are twisted by fiends to satisfy their own ends, like this. Even a lot of the crimes we've investigated stemmed from custodial issues and pent up hate over parents, children, divorces- all of it. It's just stupid and depressing when you think about it, I wonder if what we're fighting for is even worth it. If this world can ever know peace?" Elliot's tone was indifferent, as if he had thought about this many times before and his statement was just a recitation of that deeply repeated thought.

"El," Olivia said, she herself having wondered this before as well. "El, I think it is worth it!" She burst out defiantly. "It is worth it, there is some good we can do in the world. Think about the love you have for your children, the happiness you bring them. THAT matters, El, it matters so much, because…" Her tears welled up again. "Because that's what I never had. I never had a safe and happy home growing up, and… and I wanted it so badly" she finished. "Elliot we've got to keep believing that what we do matters."

"You're right, Olivia," Elliot confirmed, squeezing her hand and looking at her, with a fragile smile on his face. They held this moment of understanding for what seemed to be a long time in silence, until Elliot glanced away and said, "speaking of, looks like Shankle's home."

An effeminate looking man was cautiously approaching Shankles doorstep, and dawdled upon the threshold, slowly entering, when Elliot and Olivia grabbed him from behind and slammed him against the wall.

"Carl Shankle you're under arrest for the-"

"I'm not him! I'm not him!" The man pleaded immediately, shaking.

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other. He was acting strangely and looked nothing like Shankle's blonde ID they had seen. They released him but stood watchfully around him, barring his exit.

"Well then who the hell are you?" Elliot demanded.

"James…. James Tucker," the man stuttered. "He told me to tell you… that… that he wasn't going to be caught that easily, and that someone else would pay for trying to stop him…"

"What!" The detectives exclaimed in unison. "Shankle put you up to this!"

The man nodded.

NEXT: James Tucker's dilemma is explained and a sinister plot begins. Olivia better watch her back...


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to all who are reviewing! I love you all!

**Chapter 5**

"What!" The detectives exclaimed in unison. "Shankle put you up to this!"

The man nodded. "He…he has my wife," he moaned, "and told me to come here and give you this message, or else he would hurt her."

Elliot and Olivia stood there, shocked. "How the hell was he so sure we would be here that he could send you to scare us off?"

"I don't know, I don't know," James Tucker pleaded. "Please, you have to help her."

"Damnit!" Elliot said, "come on, you're coming with us."

The two detectives half dragged half carried the sniveling man to their squad car and returned to the precinct.

SVU-EO-SVU

James Tucker was sitting frightened in an interrogation room while the rest of the team mulled over the increasingly inscrutable case.

"So somehow this Shankle guy knows exactly when we catch onto him and not only evades us but kidnaps some dude's wife and sends him to frighten us?" Fin said doubtfully.

"Yeah, Shankle's name has no connection to SVU or any other police unit, how could he have known?" Elliot elaborated.

"Well, setting that aside for now," Cragen said, "what about the new victim, Kelly Tucker?"

"Kelly doesn't fit the profile of the other victims," Olivia said. "Definitely not abducted from a gym, apparently Shankle walked right into her home, seized her and left, informing James Tucker later with a phone call with his instructions for us. Tucker said he heard his wife crying on the phone line, so he was sure it was her."

"The damn bastard," Elliot said, angry.

"Kelly works as a lawyer," Olivia continued, "she was Jason Clooney's attorney."

"What could Carl Shankle have against her? Did he blame Kelly over Clooney's conviction?" Munch wondered. "How could they be connected?"

"Damn," said Fin, "this is really getting strange. Like a Mexican restaurant serving green nachos."

Cragen looked at him for a moment. "We need to find Shankle before he hurts Kelly, he may have already. Elliot and Olivia, both of you go search Kelly's home, try to find anything that would give us a clue as to where she might be. Ask the neighbors if they saw anything as well. Fin and Munch, reinterview Tucker, see if he can provide us with any more information, and then start running cross checks to find out the connection between Shankle and Clooney and how in the world Shankle could have known we were on to him."

They all departed.

SVU-EO-SVU

"Hey there, John, how's the Shankle case going?" Casey asked him, appearing from out of nowhere.

"Oh, hey Casey," he replied casually. "Terrible, I guess Cragen must have given you some of the details, but we've got nothing and we're getting nowhere. James Tucker in there is just moaning about how we need to find his wife. He doesn't seem to be able to help us at all."

"Yeah, that's how it looks." Currently, Fin was walking around Tucker trying to think of any other insight that they could possibly glean from him, but he had nearly lost all of his patience.

"Casey, what can you tell us about Kelly Tucker?" Munch asked.

"That defense attorney? Is that his wife?" She exclaimed, pointing at James Tucker moping in the questioning room.

"Yes, she was kidnapped by Shankle this morning."

"Oh my god…" Casey exhaled. "Well, I don't know very much about her, she's pretty new to law. Did Shankle have something against her because of the Clooney ruling?"

"We don't know, but there's a good chance of it because Kelly doesn't fit the MO of his other two victims. This one seems more planned out and intentional."

"Jesus…" I hope you find that asshole, I'll annihilate him court. Speaking of court, I need to get back to work. But hey, John, do you … uh, wanna get dinner tonight?" "What, dinner? Well, sure, I would."

"All right, great! I'll check back in with you later when I finish my work to see when you would be able to leave."

"Deal," Munch agreed. _Yeah baby!_ he thought to himself.

Casey walked off, smiling to herself. She had liked Detective Munch for a while, even though he was a little older than her. And this was the first time she had worked up the courage to actually ask him to dinner. Little did she know that Munch secretly was attracted to her as well, but didn't want to freak her out by asking her because he was so much older.

SVU-EO-SVU

Elliot and Olivia had returned, after a fruitless search. Munch and Fin were completely exhausted from Tucker's sobs and their tedious computer searches on Shankle, Clooney and Kelly. It was six o'clock and Cragen decided to call it a night, seeing as how they had absolutely no leads, no news from Shankle, and no prospects of finding any new leads.

It took them a while to persuade the despondent James Tucker to go home, but after many urgings and explanations he finally left. Everyone else soon followed him, Elliot rushing home to fix dinner for his children, Munch and Casey joining up for a romantic dinner, Olivia returning to her apartment alone, and Fin and Cragen going their own ways.

Olivia walked out of the precinct tired and feeling miserable. She still felt very responsible for Clooney's conviction, and in turn his suicide. Now, it seemed that what was happening to Kelly was also linked to Clooney somehow. She was so mad at herself for not speaking up loudly enough and trusting her instincts earlier, and those emotions mixed with the utter failure of the current investigation put her in a very wretched mood. She just wanted to drag herself home and go to sleep. She didn't want to think about this anymore or deal with her guilt over Clooney's death.

_Ring ring_ went her phone. "Uh," Olivia sighed, not wanting to speak with anyone else right now. She didn't recognize the number, great, a telemarketer or some perv she thought.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ms. Benson," said a slick voice.

"Um, who is this?" Olivia asked.

"I know where Kelly Tucker is."

"You, what? Who are you!" Olivia demanded.

"She is being held at 28 Canal Street, on the fourth floor, and unless you want her to end up like you let Jason Clooney end up I would get there quickly…"

The man had hung up.

Goddamnit Olivia thought. She would have to do this alone. She couldn't pull Elliot away from his children. She had seen Munch leaving with Casey, and Fin lived on the other side of town. She would have to do this herself. She had no clue who that could have been, it was probably Shankle, and this was probably a trap, she thought, but she had no choice, she had to follow through and attempt to save Kelly.

Olivia sprinted back into the precinct, which was now completely deserted, and hurried to the garage to get a patrol car. She burst into the room that held the keys on pegs stuck to the wall, and heard a noise behind her. As she turned a heavy hand hit her in the face and she slammed against the side wall, falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

A slick voice said, "now you dogs will pay for what you did."

NEXT: SVU learns the identity of Olivia's kidnapper, and Elliot is devastated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Olivia's mind slowly returned to conscious reality. Her head throbbed and it took her several minutes to recall anything about where she could be or how she ended up there. At first, she just slowly became aware of the sharp way in which her arms were twisted behind her and held there, preventing her movement. Her wrists were tied together and against a wall in a position that wrenched her shoulders backward and upward and made it very painful and awkward to stand, which she was forced to do. As the pain brought her back to full awareness she remembered the phone call, the rush into the office, and- oh shit she thought. The surprise blow to her head, and then darkness. She blinked her eyes and looked around, searching for whoever had done this to her.

She was in a small cluttered room that had a doorway to her left. There was a chair in the corner and a blackened, opaque window opposite her. She seemed to be in some deserted floor of a building. To her left through the door she could see what appeared to be a hallway that lead away in both directions, with an equally dirty floor. There was very little noise, no noise of any human presence at least.

"Fuck," Olivia said. Her head still burned, she thought she could feel blood dried against her forehead and cheek, but couldn't be sure. It was all numb from the pain, and her left eye was swollen. Her twisted arms made any movement impossible; she winced many times trying to look behind herself at her fetters.

Damn-it, she thought. She had fallen straight into this asshole's trap, and now she was another one of his victims. She didn't know if her team would be able to find her… How had this guy gotten into the precinct? And how had he known her phone number? Shankle didn't seem to possess the resources needed for that kind of craftiness. And what about James Tucker, how had he been informed? It seemed like someone on the inside was behind all of this.

God, I hope they figure this out before it's too late, Olivia thought. Elliot, I hope Elliot isn't too worried. After their conversation in the car the other day Olivia's feelings for him had condensed into much more poignant affections. He shared her ideals about life and they could both offer each other so much. "Oh, Elliot," she whispered.

She heard a door open gratingly from outside her prison, and then footsteps as the door slammed shut again. She looked up and to her left. Soon a man appeared, but it was definitely not Carl Shankle. The man that stood menacingly in the doorway was about six feet tall with short trim black hair and fierce eyes. Nothing like Carl Shankle's five foot three dirty blonde adolescent appearance. In fact, this man eerily reminded Olivia of Jason Clooney...

"Hello Ms. Benson," were the first words of his slimy voice which she recognized from the phone call. "I'm glad you're awake, now you'll be able to feel ever bit of the torment I'm going to give you and your fucking friends for what you did." He stepped forward and kicked her hard in the gut.

SVU-EO-SVU

"SHIT!" Elliot yelled into the phone. He was dropping his children off at school when Cragen had called him from the office. They had learned of Olivia's absence when the thrashed patrol car room had been found that morning, and after reviewing security tapes saw that Olivia had been bludgeoned and dragged off. "That son of a bitch!" Elliot said furiously.

"Look, Stabler, just get in here and we'll go from there," said Cragen. "Try not to lose it, we'll get Olivia back."

Elliot arrived at the precinct within minutes. Fin and Munch threw him cautious glances, aware of his dangerous temperament. Elliot went straight to Cragen's office and demanded, "how the hell did this happen?"

"She was knocked out from behind late last night, and hauled away. It wasn't Shankle though, we know who it was. The culprit's name is Lewis Clooney."

"Lewis, Clooney?" Elliot repeated, stretching the last name. "As in Jason Clooney?"

"Yes, it's his brother. Lewis works as a rookie in computer crimes three floors below us, which is how he got into the precinct last night, how he had Olivia's number, and probably how Shankle knew we were onto him the other day."

Elliot was just clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"It seems like he took Jason's suicide and false imprisonment seriously, and is out to exact revenge, against us." Cragen said.

"Yeah, and that would make Kelly Tucker's abduction more explainable." Munch said, walking forward. Cragen noticed that Munch's shirt had an unusually high collar today. "Clooney must have blamed Kelly partly for failing to protect Jason Clooney in court, and blamed us for the rest."

Fin looked at him, "well how the hell did Lewis Clooney managed to find and contact Carl Shankle when _we_ couldn't even locate him this whole time?"

Elliot finally burst out, "Olivia was the one arguing in favor of Jason the whole time! She's the last one to deserve this! If only I had listened to her… God damn it, that bastard!" Elliot turned and nearly crushed the adjacent bookcase with his fist, but restrained himself. "Cragen, tell me we now where he is and we're about to pin his balls to the damn wall!"

"We don't know yet, but we have some good ideas."

Fin walked in, "hey Cap, you're gonna want to see this," he motioned outside.

Elliot and Cragen left the office and entered the open area. Munch was unfurling a piece of paper next to Olivia's desk.

"The bastard just called us and told us to check for leads in Liv's desk," said Fin.

Munch began reading.

_If you want your sweet Olivia back, well, tough luck. She's going to get what she deserves just like the rest of you uptight, self-righteous pricks. All five of you, that is, John Munch, Odafin Tutuola, Elliot Stabler, Donald Cragen, and Casey Novak are to appear tonight at the abandoned apartment building on 135th Street West. 11:00p.m. Need I say, bring your other police buddies and Olivia is dog meat. Ha. Ha. Ha._

_ L.C._

Slam! Elliot's fists thundered down onto his desk. "Who does this motherfucker think he is!"

"Stabler! Cool. Off. My office, wait there." Cragen glared at Elliot, who held his gaze for a minute before adhering and secluding himself.

Cragen took a deep breath. "Munch, Fin, intel on that building. We need a plan for when we go in." Cragen turned and sat thinking deeply for a moment. "We're running this quietly, and I have a phone call to make."

Elliot entered Cragen's office and stood there, unsure of what to do. He was still white with rage. Why did it have to be Olivia, he thought. Why?

The door opened and Cragen entered. He said candidly, "Elliot, we're going to need you today, you know what's at stake. Will you be able to hold yourself together?"

Elliot looked at him. Despite how irate he was he knew that he must help rescue Olivia, and to do that he would have to control himself… for now. He remembered his conversation with Olivia on the previous day, and how much she meant to him. "Yes sir, I'll be able to do it," he said finally, resolutely.

"Thank you," Cragen said, knowing how hard it was for Elliot to say that when Olivia was imprisoned somewhere. "Now, I've got Munch and Fin working on our entrance strategy. I haven't notified anyone else yet of Olivia's absence, if we run this quietly we may be able to evade the jurisdiction issues."

"Captain…" Elliot said, knowing how risky that was.

"Unfortunately, we still have the problem of Carl Shankle. Lewis Clooney has Olivia, but Shankle is still loose with Kelly, and it is likely that Clooney and Shankle are not working together. I think that Lewis alerted Shankle the other day, when you and Olivia were confronted by James Tucker, but its doubtful if their relationship continued. That was probably his first step in his plan to exact revenge for his brother's death."

"The bastard… what's to gain by abducting Olivia?" Elliot said. "How can he try to avenge death by taking life?"

"Elliot," Cragen said calmly. "I want you to continue investigating the Tucker case. Hopefully that will let you collect yourself before tonight, besides, we need to find Kelly Tucker."

"All right, sir." Elliot said, breathing deeply.

SVU-EO-SVU

Olivia crumpled forward gasping as the foot made contact. Before she could even inhale his hand ripped across her face, knocking her to the side and sending her already uncomfortable arms into excruciating pain.

"You assholes think its so easy, do you? Separating right from wrong… innocence from guilt." He reached down and grabbed Olivia's face with his hand and she stared into a pair of blazing eyes from which she read one quality: insanity. "Well I'll show you just how easy it is to tell the difference!" He shoved her against the wall and punched her gut. Olivia thought her shoulders might break from the pressure against them.

The man suddenly turned around and abruptly walked to the other side of the room. "He's fucking dead! He's dead and its because of what you all did to him!" The man raged about and kicked the chair in the room against the wall, then picked it up and slammed it to pieces upon the ground. "He's gone because of your ignorance!"

He rushed back to Olivia, bringing his face close to hers, and said in an insidious voice, "I wonder what his last thoughts were? Huh? Before he hung himself up like that in prison?" He grabbed her hair and jerked it upward, wrenching her neck as her body tried to alleviate the tension. "You're gonna find out… yes… you are… you'll have to suffer something worse before its over… you stupid bitch." He released her hair and slapped her in the face again. As Olivia's body curled back down into its pitiful suspension she lapsed back into unconsciousness.

NEXT: Olivia's trauma worsens, and SVU prepares for their assualt.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Olivia's head wobbled and swayed from side to side as she strayed back into the conscious world. Her eyelids drooped and finally became active again as she blinked in the light. Looking around, she was alone again.

Olivia sighed, remembering her last painful encounter with her attacker. _"He's dead."_ He had said. He was talking about Jason Clooney. This man must be related to him, or his friend, or have some intimate connection to drive him into such a hateful rampage. God, Olivia's guilt was returning, this is all because I didn't stand up for Jason when I could have. For a moment she felt a semblance of pity for him, for this soul driven to such desolation out of grief.

The man returned. "Awake again, I see. You'll have to stay awake this time, I need you to cry when your friends come."

"You won't hurt me or my friends," was Olivia's tenacious response, although it was agonizing upon her aching body to pronounce those words. "They'll stop you, they will."

"Yess, we'll see that happen," he said, prancing around the room now, lifting his knees and swinging his feet forward. "Big bad Elliot Stabler is going come running in here with his shiny guns and shoot me up, is that it?" He pressed her chin with his index finger, jesting. Olivia curled her nose in revulsion. "And Fin, and Munch, and that old bag Cragen and your little girlfriend too, they're all gonna storm in her thinking they can best me and then I'll finish them. Finish them all! I'll let them see you suffering and then it's lights out for all involved."

"One against five, you'll never win. Not against my friends."

"Hmh, we'll see about that" Lewis said, eyeing her maliciously. He suddenly dropped to the floor, sitting. Olivia was getting the feeling that this guy was really out of his mind, even if Jason Clooney had been dear to him, his behavior was inexplicable. "You see… dear girl… if I hadn't joined computer crimes I would have been in demolition, which means I know everything about how to raze this building to the ground."

"You'll never get away with it," Olivia said staring him down.

"Get away with it…. Hahaha, as if I'm going anywhere. I'll be right here to watch the fireworks! That is, the expression on all of your faces as you realize you're firewood."

"Do you even care about your own life anymore?" Olivia said out loud, wondering how much of this man's mind was lost to delusion.

"My life… listen to the little police girl. Shut up!" He burst. "You don't know what it was like. What your ravenous laws are really, you can't understand, you trash. That's why I have to show you all, teach it to you myself. You'll understand in the end." His face was contorted into a frowning scowl. "And now its about time for it to begin," he said looking at his watch.

"You see… this floor of the building was once used for CIA interrogations, which means that odd window behind me is really a bulletproof two way mirror, behind which I'll be pleasantly hiding as you try to warn your dear friends once they find you. And then I'll see them all turn and try to shoot me, and then," he held up a trigger, "boom! We all go to hell together, sweetheart!"

He cackled and guffawed as he slapped Olivia in the face again and traipsed out of the room.

Olivia sunk back down into her pathetic half-kneeling stance and watched him leave. She noticed an arrow scrawled in red paint on the floor, leading into her room, and a bucket of paint next to it. "Jesus…" she said. This wasn't looking very good at all.

Despite the resiliency of her responses to Lewis in her heart she was terrified. Not only was this man serious, he didn't care about his own life, which means he wouldn't think twice before blowing them all sky high, which apparently he was prepared to do.

Olivia sighed and though of her team and of Elliot. She wondered if this would be their last night on this planet. She mentally pressed the thought of their deaths out of her mind, she wouldn't let herself think it, she couldn't. She couldn't handle even the idea of such a reality. And Elliot…

Olivia had been so happy for Elliot now that he had become closer to his children, she had been so happy for his family. She had been able to see how well his relationships with his children had developed in the last six months, and secretly, she had hoped and wished that one day they could call her their mother. This had been her wish and it had only been strengthened after she heard Elliot tell her how much his children meant to him. She couldn't believe Kathy's parents were trying to take this away from him. If he died tonight because of her they would succeed. That couldn't happen, Olivia thought, it just couldn't happen.

Olivia desperately wanted to make this right. To be free and to see Elliot and his children free, and then to tell Elliot how she felt. She had been alone for so long, she knew if she survived this night there was little chance of her finding any family in the future outside of Elliot's. She wanted to be with him, she wanted to call his children her children and love them and care for them. In her heart she loathed the man behind the mirror who was threatening so many lives so cruelly.

She looked up at the mirror vehemently and yelled, "you have no right to hurt so many people like this! Leave us alone!"

SVU-EO-SVU

The Shankle-Kelly case not only had no leads, but Elliot was so preoccupied with his thoughts of Olivia that his efforts on the case were spent in vain. He had left the office and told Cragen to call him when they needed him back inside. Elliot was currently walking around the city to try and cool his nerves. It was dark, it would be time soon.

Elliot was surprised that he felt so strongly about Olivia's abduction. She was his partner and he expected to feel more for her than just friendship, but his heart was burning with something deeper now that she was in real danger. It was like he was suddenly threatened with some great emptiness. He remembered back across the last year. Olivia had always been there when he needed her, and once he assumed full responsibility of his children Olivia had been there to help him out countless times.

She had picked his kids up from school, taken them to school, watched them at home. She had helped fix meals for dinner and get groceries occasionally when Elliot was too busy or when one of the kids was sick. She was always there when he needed her, and the children adored her. In fact, Elliot realized, he adored her as well. Perhaps the busyness of the last six months had distracted him, or perhaps it was because Olivia's involvement in his life was no longer limited to just hisrelationship with her but extended across his entire family. Whatever the case, Elliot understood that Olivia now had a place in his family, a place that she had earned and that was waiting for her. But it wasn't just his family, Olivia had a place in his heart, and if she was lost it would not merely be the loss of a close family member. Elliot cowered from the thought of it.

And yet now he had realized this too late. It had taken this terrible event for him to understand what Olivia meant to him. Now Olivia's life was at stake, there was a risk of losing her just like there was a risk of losing his kids. Neither could happen, Elliot thought. They are all so precious to me, they're all I have in the world. "I have to save her," he said aloud, his eyes wet with the tears of his mourning heart.

His phone finally rang, he grabbed it and answered with expert efficiency, jerked back into the necessity of action.

"Elliot," came Cragen's voice. "It's time."

NEXT: SVU Battle Royale.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I don't own SVU, or Lance Reddick, who appears in this chapter. I used his real name so people would know who he is, because he appears in SVU like only a few times and is some minor doctor or somebody, so if I used that character's name no one would recognize him, but he's super tough! So yeah, here we go, sorry for the long wait, I've got the final chapters coming soon, and I love reviews, even if you don't say much!

**Chapter 8**

Elliot rushed back into the precinct at 10:00, anxious to rescue Olivia. There were no thoughts of failure in his mind, he was ready to rip apart anyone who stood in his way of saving her.

Cragen was ready and waiting for Elliot to arrive so he could start the briefing. Everyone was there: John Munch, standing apart from the group in his characteristic black suit and skinny tie, Odafin standing with his arms crossed and a grimace on his firm face, Cragen still dressed in his suit, his face cast with solemnity, and Casey Novak standing near Munch.

"Tell me," Elliot said, upon seeing Casey. "We're not going to give into his demands, are we?"

"Of course not," Cragen said. "We may need Casey to enter the building, but we aren't letting this guy out alive."

Fin stepped forward. "The building is a derelict office building, its' seventh floor was formerly used for clandestine CIA interrogations, I'll bet that's where Clooney is holed up, although we can't be sure."

"So what's our plan?" Elliot asked.

"Elliot," Cragen said, "I want you to meet Lance Reddick." An imposing African American man stepped forth from the shadows.

SVU-EO-SVU

It was late, Olivia knew that much. Her arms and shoulders smarted with the perpetual pain of her bound arms. It had been about an hour, she thought, since her abductor had left her alone. Her friends would be getting here soon, would they have a plan? What if something went wrong, what if this maniac succeeded in killing them all? Olivia couldn't consider that possibility, she had to trust them, she had to trust Elliot. He would save her, he must.

She looked up at the dark window beyond which Lewis Clooney was lurking, waiting for them all to show up. She stared fiercely at it, determined not to display any fear or pain on her face that would encourage him. She was meet only with silence.

The time dragged on. Olivia couldn't stand the interlude, this was worse then being beaten up and tortured. Sitting and waiting helplessly for her friends to walk into this trap, she though she just couldn't take it anymore when she heard muffled laughter from the hidden room behind the window.

"Here they come!" She made out through the once sound proof walls.

Olivia's heart skipped a beat; she was so nervous. She wanted to see Elliot terribly but she was afraid for the moment any of them would step into that room, because that's when Clooney would pull the trigger…

She heard the screech of the rickety door down the hallway, and a much longer interval of time before it slammed shut again.

A procession of footfalls served only to heighten Olivia's dismay and panic. She struggled vainly against her bonds, trying to free herself and do something… anything. It was taking them forever to reach her room, Olivia thought. They must be sweeping the whole floor room by room. The wait was eerie, maybe this was just part of their plan, Olivia reassured herself. They had to have a plan, Cragen always had a plan. And Elliot, Elliot couldn't let her down, she knew he would save her.

Her heart was pumping faster and faster, and her nerves were reaching their limit when Fin rounded the corner, and rushed to Olivia upon seeing her. Cragen was next, followed by Munch protectively guarding Casey… and then… Elliot rounded the doorway.

"Nooo…." Olivia pleaded, convinced that this was the end. They were all here, none were left to stop Clooney. Her eyes remained on her dear Elliot, but she noticed that he seemed different, somehow. She couldn't quite pin it down but the longer she looked at him the stranger he appeared. He was a little taller, perhaps, and gaunter without a doubt. His movements were more mechanical then they needed to be… She looked around helplessly at her comrades in distracted confusion when a deathly cry echoed out from the other room.

"AhhhhhHggghh!" The scream melded into the explosion of a gunshot, followed by another gunshot, and then another, and then an entire series of them as a clip was emptied. After a few rounds the bullets began to make contact with the bulletproof mirror in front of the detectives, until a bloodied and defeated torso came crashing through it, utterly shattering the glass across the floor.

Lewis Clooney's mangled form hung limply on the lower boundary of the destroyed window, Elliot Stabler standing behind him holding in one hand a smoking gun, and in the other the unused bomb trigger. His expression was iron-clad, but his gaze stretched into the newly exposed room until it meet with Olivia's soft brown pupils staring back at him, her face overflowing with relief.

He lowered his gun, the anger and fear left him and he smiled back at his dear Olivia. Cragen and Fin finally triumphed in freeing Olivia's arms. She stumbled forward and her shoulders slowly, painfully returned to their natural position. She winced, glad to be free again.

"God damn, Stabler, I think he was dead after the first shot," Fin said.

Elliot looked at Lewis Clooney's corpse and just shrugged.

Olivia suddenly said, remembering, "but… how?" Looking over at the first Elliot.

The first Elliot reached up to his forehead, grabbed his scalp, and pulled off an incredibly realistic mask of Elliot's face, unconvering the austere proportions of a black man Olivia had never seen before.

"It's a new trick from forensics," Cragen explained. "They've been updating their facial recognition tech with the help of the undercover and disguise department." Lance Reddick smiled.

"But that's not important now," the real Elliot said, walking into the room. "You're safe now Olivia, and probably need to see a doctor." He hugged Olivia tenderly and she rested her head against his chest, crying quietly.

NEXT: Recovery in hospital. EO!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Elliot Stabler stood back from the throng surrounding Olivia Benson. She had been released after a routine check from the doctor, in all she had minor injuries. Her shoulders were badly bruised and sore, so she would have to restrict her activity for the next week or so, but all in all, she was all right. Elliot had rushed in immediately to meet the bandaged and tired Olivia as soon as he had been allowed to. After an effusive exchange of happy greetings Elliot had been separated from her by the pressing crowd of Olivia's other SVU friends who were reluctant to let Elliot have Olivia all to himself.

Standing apart now, Elliot let the full relief of Olivia's safety sweep over him. He had remained anxious and worried for her until the doctor gave the all-clear, but now she was safe. Elliot sat back in a cushioned chair and thought about the previous events; so much had happened, but it had only been one day since Olivia had been kidnapped. Elliot took a deep breath and looked thankfully at the warm-hearted reunion in front of him.

Casey was currently hugging Olivia gingerly. "I'm so glad you're okay, Olivia," she said. "You had us all worried so badly."

"I know, I'm sorry," Olivia replied. "You know, for a while I was pretty worried back there myself, but I knew you all would show up and know what to do." She looked earnestly and gratefully at Elliot, who smiled back at her.

"Yes," Cragen said. "You can thank my pal Lance for that. He used to work with the CIA in that building, and he and I go back a long way. I called him up and he was able to give us not only the most likely place Clooney would set himself up, but also a secret route for Elliot to enter the building."

"Dear god, I was so scared when I first saw you walking in to that room," Olivia said, remembering. She turned to Lance Reddick, who was standing back with his arms folded. "Until I noticed Elliot's stretchy face!" Lance smiled widely, and the whole group laughed.

"And then Elliot really let loose on our villain. Damn El, I still think you took it overboard a little," Fin said, eyebrows stretched upward.

"Well, I was just a little, pissed off, that's all." Elliot responded, trying to feign innocence. "Some asshole goes and steals away my favorite partner and all… well, you know," he offered.

Everyone laughed again.

"I still can't believe this guy took Clooney's death so seriously and personally," Casey said. "I understand his suicide is egregious and horrid, but interpreting it as proper cause for a bloodthirsty vendetta against the police, that's a little too much."

The group became silent for a moment, reflecting on how deplorable the whole affair was. A pair of heretofore respectable brothers both dead as a result of a mistaken conviction, shame, and hatred.

"Well," Munch said, half-solemnly, "such is the nature of the job we all so enjoy. So who's up for some pizza?"

"Ah, hell ya!" Fin said. The others echoed their agreement.

SVU-EO-SVU

The band of friends ate at Mario's Pizzeria, the only pizza restaurant nearby that they found open. It was . by the time their pizza arrived. They had gone straight to the hospital after rescuing Olivia and from there straight to Mario's.

After hungrily wolfing down three large Hawaiian pizzas everyone conceding that it was time for bed. All were exhausted, especially Olivia, and after Cragen reminded everyone that Carl Shankle was still roaming the city with Kelly Tucker in his grasp they decided it was time to preserve any remaining strength for the forthcoming case.

Elliot prompted volunteered to escort Olivia home, seeing as how first she had no way to get there herself, and second, Elliot had something he wished to tell her. Something that had been left painfully waiting in his mind since before they rescued her.

"All right, I'll see you all tomorrow," Olivia said playfully as they departed.

"Benson I'll be damned if you don't take your leave like I told you to!" Cragen lambasted. "If I see you in the morning you're fired!"

"There's a better chance of you growing back your hair than that happening!" Olivia replied. Cragen frowned and got into his car.

"All right, all right," Elliot said, "time for you to go home before Cragen really does fire you."

"Okay," Olivia replied, laughing. The two walked to Elliot's car and Elliot drove them back to Olivia's apartment.

SVU-EO-SVU

"Elliot," said Olivia, stopping and turning toward her partner and protector before entering her apartment. "Thank you so much for saving me today."

"You're welcome, Liv. I couldn't imagine losing you." Elliot stopped for a moment. "Olivia, could I come in, I want to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, sure," Olivia replied. Although she had been through hell for the last twenty four plus hours she was suddenly wide awake and her heart was pounding. Was Elliot going to finally reveal his true feelings about her? Olivia clumsily ambled into her apartment and led them over to her couch.

"Olivia," said Elliot, "when Clooney had you in that warehouse, I was forced to think about losing you, because at that time, you were, well, gone. I realized… I realized, Liv, that you are all I have in this world. I realized it just like I realized how much my children meant to me, but only after someone else threatened to take them away. Only after someone threatened to take you away. Olivia, I thought, I felt that if I lost you, I would be empty, and have nothing left."

"We've been partners for a long time, and we know each other pretty damn well. I've thought about this enough, and the past days' events have convinced me completely, finally." Elliot was losing track of his thoughts, it was late and he was never very tactful when it came to expressing his feelings anyway. He looked at Olivia's adorably cute face, her gorgeous brown hair and eyes- "Damnit Liv!" He burst out. "I- I love you… Will you marry me?"

Olivia's heart seemed to stop. She felt as if the skin of her face was being stretched; her mouth and body were frozen. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, the words she had for so long secretly hoped for, hoped against all odds for… and now articulated so simply and clearly, so easily. Her feeble affirmation slipped out of her mouth without even her mind's consent, as her eyes welled with tears, more tears than she had cried in years, and she collapsed into Elliot's arms.

"Yes, Elliot, yes." She said forthright. "Oh, Elliot…" She looked up into his kind and strong eyes, closed her own tearful eyelids and leaned up to kiss him. They held this first kiss for a long moment, a moment earned and long waited for. Sweet happiness enveloped them and they sat there holding each other without another care in the world until being soon soothed into sleep, secure in lasting embrace.

NEXT: Carl Shankle is finally apprehended.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Olivia and Elliot woke up blissfully a few hours later, still on the couch. Despite their traumatic experiences they slept peacefully and once awake found it impossible to return to sleep.

"Olivia, you really should stay here and try to get some more rest." Elliot chided. "You deserve it more than any of us. Cragen will be beside himself if you come into the precinct today."

"Look," Olivia said exuberantly, "after being proposed to last night there is no way I am going to or could just sit at home alone, even if I was kidnapped yesterday! I'm going with you, we're catching this Shankle bastard, and after we tell everyone we're getting married they won't even remember all the chaos from yesterday!"

"Huh…" Elliot said, "I guess I can't say no to that. "Besides, I of course want my lovely fiance by my side from now on." With that Elliot took Olivia into his arms and they kissed passionately.

SVU-EO-SVU

An hour or two later the two detectives shuffled into the precinct, later than they should have been, disheveled, and trying too hard to conceal the cause of their tardiness.

"Well I'm glad the Mr. and Mrs. could join us," Fin said, jokingly.

Elliot and Olivia exchanged glances.

"Stabler, about time you- Benson I thought I told you-" Cragen began but was cut short by Olivia's too quick reply.

"Captain Cragen, everyone! Elliot and I are getting married!"

Cragen just stopped, his arm and pointing finger suspended in midair. John Munch spewed coffee all across his desk and slapped his thigh. Fin shook his head and just said, "well I'll be damned."

"Elliot proposed to me last night and I agreed." Olivia added. "The first SVU marriage that I know of," she said smiling.

Elliot was red in the face but beaming nonetheless, his beautiful and proud wife-to-be standing by his side.

The rest of the team was still too shocked to respond. "Shall we get on with business then?" Elliot said hopefully. "Don't we have a rapist to catch?"

"Elliot's right," Fin said. Munch was frantically trying to clean up his spilled coffee. "We've been hard at work while you two have been, uh, … But we still have no leads."

Cragen finally regained himself. "All right, Olivia and Elliot this is fabulous news. I guess I don't need to say we've all been waiting for this for months. However, Mrs. Stabler, if you think this is going to cause me to retract my previous-"

The phone rang, distracting Cragen, who looked at Munch to answer it. Munch was still vigorously preoccupied with his ruined desktop and didn't seem to even notice. Cragen finally said, "well, somebody answer it!" Fin answered, and Cragen returned to a pink faced Olivia.

"Right. If you think your new marriage plans are going to make-"

"Captain," Fin said, "Kelly Tucker's in NYPD custody. They're bringing her in right now."

Cragen wheeled. "What? What happened?"

"Officer says she just turned up on the streets battered and bruised, with hardly any clothing and managed to flag a car down and call 911. Police picked up her soon afterward."

"Jesus, she must have escaped." Cragen said. "We might only have a short amount of time to catch Shankle before he realizes she's gone and books it himself. Elliot and Olivia, prep for interrogation. Fin and Jo- John! Goddamnit! A little spilled coffee's not the end of the world, let's go! Fin and Munch get out to the location Kelly was picked up at and ready for further commands from us."

The all dispersed, Olivia slyly winking at Elliot.

SVU-EO-SVU

"Kelly, you need to tell us everything you know about what happened to you," Olivia said.

"All right," an unkempt and mistreated Kelly Tucker replied, trying to compose herself. "He… He was at my house and surprised me, I don't really remember anything after that. I was unconscious. When I woke up I was in an apartment alone with him. He said, 'I didn't pick you out but you sure are a cute one.' Then he… he raped me. I was tied down, couldn't get away. He kept me there and… raped me again and again as time went on. The apartment was very dirty and after one of those times he left the shirt he was wearing next to the bed, it had a pen in the pocket, and I managed to use the pen to cut through the rope that was tying my hands. He wasn't there then so I just threw on my thrashed clothes and got the hell out of there." Kelly was crying by this point.

"Kelly, I'm so sorry," Olivia said sympathetically. "Do you remember which apartment it was?"

"Yes," Kelly sobbed. "It's… it's on the fifth floor. Room 42A, of the Huxley Apartment Building on 28th."

Olivia nodded to Elliot who hastened out, repeating the address in his mind. "Thank you Kelly, I promise you're safe now, and we're going to catch this bastard and make him pay for what he did to you."

Kelly nodded her head in silent understanding.

Outside the room Elliot relayed the information to Cragen who immediately called Fin. "Huxley Apartments, Fifth floor room 42A. Go."

SVU-EO-SVU

Munch and Fin burst into the apartment and swept through it, before concluding that no one was home. Fin called Cragen.

"Yeah, cap, no one home. You want us to wait outside for this guy?"

"No, wait in the apartment. I'll send Elliot and Olivia to watch the front."

Elliot and Olivia drove over to 28th Avenue across from the Huxley Apartment Building and waited in their patrol car for Carl Shankle to return.

"Well, here we are again," Elliot said, "staked out waiting for Shankle to return to his apartment, except he's got no heads up this time."

"Yeah," Olivia said, "and this time we're engaged." The two detectives swapped glances of delight and grasped each other's hand.

"So, how long do you think we'll manage to get for the honeymoon?" Elliot asked.

"We'll be lucky if Cragen gives us a week!" Olivia said. "Elliot I'm so glad we're getting married. I can't wait to tell your children, they'll be so happy to hear."

"They will be so glad. They've actually asked me before if Aunt Olivia can move in with them. I'll have to tell them its not Aunt anymore. What do you say after we nab this Shankle loser we pick up the kids and take them out to dinner somewhere nice tonight to celebrate?"

"That would be fantastic, El." Olivia said, thrilled at the idea.

"Then after that we can begin moving some of your belongings to your new house."

"Sure!" Olivia replied. "What shall we do about the children during our honeymoon? Can we bring them with us?"

"Certainly," Elliot said. "Anything you want, and I would love to have them along, after…" Elliot stopped, "god I forgot about the custody suit from Kathy's parents." He sat back, disgruntled.

"Oh honey, don't worry. There's no way they'll win that, we'll get Casey working with us and now that you're getting married they'll have practically no case at all."

"You're right, I hadn't thought of that yet. That's a relieving thought."

"Hey, check this guy out," Olivia said looking across the street as a blonde man in an overcoat approached the building.

"Oh, yeah, that's definitely him this time." Elliot said. "Come on, Liv, let's go."

The pair of detectives jumped out of the patrol car and followed the man into the apartment. Shankle had just entered the elevator and the two detectives had to wait for the next one. Elliot phoned Munch to let him know Shankle was headed his way.

The second elevator appeared and Elliot and Olivia got in. As soon as the doors closed Olivia pounced on Elliot, kissing him vigorously. She pressed his body against the elevator wall and their embrace intensified.

_Ding_ went the bell indicating their floor was reached. Olivia stepped back speedily. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that."

"I'm not complaining!" Elliot said, "hey, come on." Shankle had just turned the corner.

Elliot and Olivia rounded the corner just as Shankle opened his apartment door to find Munch and Fin waiting for him. Elliot flew up behind him and slammed him against the wall as he and Fin said in unison, "Carl Shankle, you're under arrest for the rape and abduction of three women."

SVU-EO-SVU

Carl Shankle was indicted and convicted by Casey Novak, and the case was closed. During interrogation SVU had learned that Shankle's original beef against Jason Clooney had been a long repressed anger from his childhood. According to Shankle Jason had bullied him at a park in his neighborhood multiple times, and humiliated him in front of his friends. Carl said that Jason would force him to come to the park by threatening that he would tell everyone at their school what a puss he was, and when he showed up at the park Jason would beat up and shove him around. Carl had burned with hatred against Jason all these years, and had been concealing a morbid revenge plan the entire time.

"Do you think he was molested by Jason, as a boy?" Olivia asked Elliot.

"He sure could have been. He didn't admit it but it wouldn't have helped his case, he was going down either way. Maybe he didn't want Clooney to keep shaming him even after his death."

"He did try to frame Clooney with a rape, that would confer worse shame onto him then what Carl had to endure as a child. It would be the perfect answer to being molested, returning one ignominy for another."

"Yeah, and with Clooney it was worse because of his parents. Jason was driven to kill himself because his parents disowned him upon learning he raped someone. He couldn't bear the shame, and took his own life."

"Which sent Lewis into his bloody rampage for revenge."

"And now they all end up dead, with Carl serving life."

"Jesus, El, this is miserable, what do you say we call it a day and go pick up our children?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart. It just goes to show the power and danger of a grudge, I guess. But yeah, let's go home."

Home, Olivia thought. She didn't know if she had even been able to use that word in its proper sense. Not when she was a child, no, and not now, now her _home_ was just where she lived, it had no sentimental value. How she had longed to _belong _somewhere though, to be able to call somewhere home.

She smiled gratefully at Elliot, "yes, yes let's go home."

The two left the precinct arm in arm and picked up Elliot's children, who were overjoyed to learn of the marriage between the father and his favorite friends.

"So we can call you mother now!" Kathleen asked.

"You sure can my dear!" Olivia replied, merrily.

The elated family had a scrumptious Italian dinner and then went home, finally. The all fixed cookies and watched a movie together, and Olivia settled into her new home and family. She was happy, she thought, with the man she loved and children she adored. Before, it was a silent struggle to continue living her life. But now, she thought, now, she would wake up every morning with the lasting happiness of living the life she had always wanted.

"Thank you El," she said, before they went to bed. "I love you."

"Thank you, my dear," Elliot said sweetly. "And I love you so much, too."

EOnd.

A/N

All right that's the end. I know it's a little cheesy and probably hard to follow all the different villains, but that's it. The conclusion of my first story. Please review, please! Especially if you're a stalker and haven't review yet, let me know what you think, even if you don't like it. and thanks to all who have reviewed already (12...)

I'll be working on a future project shortly. Until then, farewell!


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